Railroad claw-bar



(No Model.)

L; TRAUTH & W. 1). WHITE. RAILROAD CLAW BAR.

.No. 541,701. Patented June 25, 1895.

WITNESSES:

INVENTOR MW! 0(7 WWW A TTOHNEYS.

' UNITED STAT-Es LOUIS TRAUTH AND WILLIAM D.

RAILROAD WHITE, OF GRETNA, LOUISIANA.

C LAW-BAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent no. 541,701, dated'J'une 25, 1895.

Application filed February 6,1895- Serlal No. 537,494. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that we, LOUIS TRAUTH and WILLIAM D. WHITE, of Gretna, in the parish of Jefferson and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and Improved Railroad Claw- Bar, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to an improvement in railroad claw bars, and the object of the invention is to construct a heel adapted for convenient attachment to the ordinary or old style of claw bar, which heel will serve as a variable fulcrum for the claw bar, and will have afirm hearing at its bottom, enabling the claw bar through the medium of a continuous movement to withdraw a spike straight readily and expeditiously, or whereby the said heel may be utilized in a' manner whereby the spike may be withdrawn by two movements of the bar, the leverage in the latter event being greater than that in the former. The invention consists in the novel construction and combination. of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a side elevation of the improved claw-bar, illustrating the heel in position enabling the bar to withdraw a spike, the movement of the bar being continuous. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the claw-bar and a vertical sectional view of the heel, the position of the heel and bar being that of the second step in drawing a spike with two movements of the bar; and Fig. 3 is aplan view of the heel detached.

In carryingout the invention the claw bar A is of theordinary construction, comprising a shank or handle section 10 and a foot or claw section 11, the under surface of which is rounded off or rendered cylindrical, as shown at 12 in the drawings. The improvement consists in the application of a heel B to this ordinary form of claw bar, and the said heel comprises two side pieces 13, which are preferably made wider at the base than at the top; and the rear edge of each side piece is made to taper in an upwardly and forwardly direction,

The two side pieces are connected at the front and at the front portion of their lower edges by means of an angular web 14, and the upper surface 15 of this web is rounded off, as is likewise the lower surface 16, the upper surface being adapted primarily as a stop when the heel is used in one position and as a rest in another position, while in the position of the heel in which the upper edge of the web is used as a stop the lower edge 16 is employed as a fulcrum; and in the further construction of the said heel the lower edge of section of the web 14 are rendered concave, whereby the said heel when in perpendicular position, has two bearing surfaces, one at the front and the other at the rear, and therefore stands upon a firm bottom.

The heel B is pivoted upon the claw bar by means of a bolt 17 or its equivalent, passed through the claw bar adjacent to its claw section 11, the claw bar entering between the side members of the heel.

The operation of this improved claw bar is substantially the same as the ordinary claw bar, and if the spike is to be removed with a continuous downward movement of the bar the claw is introduced under the head of the spike in the ordinary way, and the handle "section of the bar is pressed downward until the heel strikes the tie at its forward lower edge, as shown in Fig. 1. The spike will then have been nearly drawn, and the finishing action will beobtained by further pressing down the handle end of the bar proper, since the body of the bar will have been supported upon the points 15 and 16 of the web, and the point 16 will then serve as the fulcrum. If, however, the spike cannot be entirely withdrawn while the heel is in its incliued position, shown in Fig. 1, the bar will be lifted up and the heel will then gravitate forward until the upper end of the web 15 strikesthe lower face of the bar, the said end 15 of the web serving as a stop to hold the heel in substantially vertical position,whereby upon lowering the bar the base of the heel will strike firmly upon the tie, and the claw section being brought in engagement with the head of the spike, the said spike may be quickly drawn by simply pressing down upon the handle end of the bar, the bolt 17 servthe said side piece, and likewise the lower ing in this case as a fulcrum; or, if desired, the spike may be simply started by the claw end of the bar in the usual way, or partly drawn, and afterward fully drawn by placing the heel in the said vertical position. Shown in Fig. 2.

Itwill be observed that by the attachment of the heel a firm and secure bearing is obtained, likewise avariable fulcrum; and furthermore the claw bar employed will be an old style one, or that with which railroad laborers are familiar.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with a claw bar, of a heel pivoted thereto, the said heel comprising side pieces, and a web of angular construction connecting the side pieces at the front and lower portions thereof and partially at the bottom, forming two surfaces for contact with the bar, one surface serving as a stop and the other as a fulcrum in addition to the pivot of the heel, which likewise serves as a fulcrum, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a claw bar, of a heel, the same consisting of side pieces having their lower or base edges concave and their rear edges inclined from the base up- LOUIS TRAUTII. WILLIAM D. WHITE.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH FISHER, WM. L. LANGRIDGE. 

